The way we were
by Spin me round
Summary: Time has passed and the gang went their separate ways. However they have all somehow found their way back to Orange County. Marissa has returned after being absent for some number of years, throwing her friends and old community off balance. (Note-Marissa never died at the end of season 3) If you care to read, reviews are always appreciated :)
1. Who says you can't go home again?

It was the vaulted ceilings that did it.

Her grandparent's old house on Elm had had the most beautiful vaulted ceilings. She remembered laying on the Persian rug in front of the fireplace in their living room staring up at the ceiling for hours as a child fascinated by how tall the ceiling seemed to her. Of course as she grew older and taller the place shrunk somewhat in size, til she felt somehow claustrophobic at the home but she knew it hadn't been the house itself that made her feel that way as a 15 year old it was the poisonous environment she lived in. Shortly before her parents' marriage had ended, her grandmother had sold the house deciding to move further up north to Carmel-by-the-sea where she had been raised as a young girl feeling the house she had once lived in with her by then deceased husband was now to big and empty for someone her age to live in and maintain.

Marissa put the box down letting out a quiet sigh as she looked out the bedroom window which had a view of the white sands and rolling waves of the Pacific Ocean. She opened the box pulling out a picture frame, she studied it for a moment smiling faintly. The laughing face of Summer and herself as teenagers stared back. She vaguely remembered the photo being taken during the summer at one of the many parties which had taken place at Holly's beach house whilst her parents were out of town and otherwise occupied. She heard a door close in the distance shaking herself out of her momentary daydream placing the photo back in the box before moving the box into her closet. She walked out of her closet just as her husband entered the bedroom smiling as he dropped another box on the bed.

"Already unpacked?" Derek asked as she let his arms encircle her waist gently.

"Uh no, it was just a box of junk" she nodded smiling up at him unsure of why she was lying. "Just some old clothes of mine what should have gone to goodwill when we were packing up the apartment in Manhattan" she said kissing him softly on the lips. "There are some worthwhile charities in the area, I'm sure they would appreciate if I donated some old clothes" she said as she looked into her husband's smiling eyes.

"I'm sure they would sweetheart" he said nodding smiling down at her, his muscular arms pulling her tighter against his body. "The kids got to school okay by the way, the dean was very welcoming. I think they'll both thrive at Harbour" he nodded. "Maybe Sean will finally settle down and get his act together" he said shooting her another smile before letting her go and turning his attention to the box he had carried in opening it and taking files out of it. "If that boy doesn't settle down. No way is he getting into a good school next year" he nodded.

Marissa rolled her eyes slightly at her husband's back. "Yeah the harbour school will be good for him" she agreed not really believing her own words. "I heard it can do wonders for a child's education, his chances should rise exponentially to get into an ivy" she nodded disgusted by her own words. "He will go to Princeton Derek like you don't worry" she nodded sitting down on their bed and kicking off her flats. "How did Camille go? I know she felt anxious" she said nodding.

"Oh she'll be fine, her anxiety was nothing she'll fit right in at Harbour" he said. "I think she'll probably try out for the cheerleading squad" he said as his brow furrowed in concentration as he flipped through the files. Marissa scoffed quietly to herself, it amazed her how clueless her husband really was sometimes. Their daughter Camille was the anti-cheerleader, he would have to be blind not to see it. She watched as he re-organised the files frowning a little as he placed them back in the box. "Wrong files" he nodded. "These were the ones that should have gone to the offices in Paolo Alto" he said to himself rather than to her. "I should go to the office and ship these ones up there" he nodded before shaking his head. "Better yet I'll call the office and tell them I'm coming up there to collect them" he nodded. "Give them time to prepare for the shit storm that's coming their way" he joked to Marissa who smiled back.

"I shouldn't expect you for dinner then?" she asked as he shook his head. "We can have a late dinner, the kids won't mind" he said before closing the box back up and leaving their bedroom and Marissa to her thoughts. She heard a door close and a car start outside hearing her husband drive off. She walked back into her closet taking the box back off the shelf. She re-opened it taking the picture frame out and placing it on the bed. The glass in the frame reflected the sun streaming in through the window as she looked back in the box. She smiled as she pulled out her old worn care bear that had seen better days smiling as she placed him on the bed beside the frame along with the pink Berkeley hoodie Summer had bought for her their senior year.

She stuck her hand back in the box grasping a glass bottle. She pulled it out and looked at it unscrewing the cap and taking a swig. The clear liquid burned her throat a little as it went down but quickly subsided, she coughed a little screwing the cap back on and placing it back in the box. She hadn't been back since she left, she'd gone straight from Greece to New York after spending a year with her father who had been working on boats in the region. She had met Derek whilst his family was on Christmas holiday and joined him in New York the following summer marrying him the same year at Christmas surrounded by her family her best friend and other closest friends noticeably absent from the ceremony. Mostly because she'd lost contact with them after leaving for Greece and spending the year abroad. She was aware Summer still lived in Newport Beach and found herself somewhat nervous at the prospect of running into her old friend after all these years. She grabbed the bottle again from the box grasping it in her hand and walking over to the window staring back out at the ocean once more. She knew she should not have stayed away so long, she knew it would only make it harder to re-join the community she had once been a gate keeper of as a teen. However she knew she could make it work, after all who said you could never come home again?


	2. Way Back Home

"They are not going to agree to that"

Summer said into the phone as she flipped though the papers on her desk.

"No I don't care, the park service is not going to sell off 30 acres of endangered woodland just so you can make the world even more polluted than it already is. Call me back when you come to your senses you ass" she said hanging up annoyed. Summer slipped the papers back into their manila folder striding over to her filing cabinet placing them back in. She closed her eyes pinching the bridge of her nose exhausted after a long day of work. She looked out her office window at the parking lot down below now mostly emptied of the sports cars and SUV's that the firm's attorney's had clogged it with during the day. She leaned over her desk scribbling something on a post it and leaving it on the last file on her desk before picking up her purse and sunglasses she would need for her drive home in the last rays of twilight.

Summer left her office saying goodbye to the few staff that still remained as she walked through a room filled with cubicles belonging to first and second year associates. Third years were located on the floor below and fourth years on the floor above. If you had been there more than 5 years you got your own office or left to seek better employment elsewhere. Summer had been at this particular firm since she had graduated law school from Columbia. It was the only one with the resources to allow her to do the amount of pro-bono work she wanted to do in addition to corporate law that supported her lifestyle. She opened her car door getting inside tossing her bag onto the passenger's seat before starting the car and driving out of the parking lot. The last rays of sun filled her car as she made her way home her stomach growling as she switched on her radio which was giving out the traffic report. She groaned inwardly as she heard about an accident on her usual route home; she stopped at the next red light making a left turn when it allowed her to taking the long way home. She drove through the numbered streets passing the dry cleaners making a mental note to tell Seth they had to go there tomorrow morning to pick up his suits and some of their children's clothes before going to the florist and picking up fresh flowers.

Sometime later she made it to the gates of the community she and Seth lived in, smiling at the guards as they let her drive through. She took a right driving down Elm street slowing down a little as she was not the only one on the road as people left to go to their various benefits and babysitters arrived to watch the children of the over privileged. Summer noticed a moving truck exiting the long driveway of the house that had belonged to the Kaufman family before Mr Kaufman's mother had gotten sick and the family had decided to move to be closer to her. Summer wondered who had bought the house that had been empty for nearly 6 months and hoped to god that whoever had purchased it would have the good sense to get rid of the hideous sculptures the Kaufman's had scattered throughout their yard claiming to be art. She saw a man about Seth's age follow the truck out of the driveway in his Porsche and follow it up the street. His face was somewhat familiar from the glimpse she had caught of it as she continued down the street. She probably recognised him from one of the many benefits Seth and herself had attended over the Summer.

She arrived at her driveway pulling in and parking her car in the garage before entering the house. She sniffed the air smiling when she could smell Pad Thai as she entered the kitchen.

"Perfect timing the food just got here" Seth said as he unpacked the bags placing the various containers on the counter. "Work keep you?"

"Yeah, these developers are trying to buy part of this national park and their getting to be complete asshat's about it" she frowned a little as she picked up her container digging a fork in as their kids came in grabbing various containers before scattering to their corner's of the McMansion they inhabited. "Someone's moved into the Kaufman's place" she said through a mouthful of Pad Thai swallowing quickly as Seth chuckled. "Think they'll finally get rid of those awful sculptures?" She said as she and Seth went to sit on the couch together.

"One can only hope, I mean those things gave Olivia nightmares for years when she was little" Seth snickered over his oldest child as they ate. "Says they still freak her out even now" he said as he stuffed his mouth with Moo Shu Pork. "I met one of the owner's earlier on my way back from Ryan's. Derek seems ok reminds me of Luke Ward" he nodded. "In what way?" Summer asked a quizzical look on her face. "In that's he's a moron" he said shaking his head. "Didn't meet his wife, she was busy with the help, his words not mine" he nodded as he opened his can of coke taking a swig.

"Maybe we should go over, introduce ourselves?" she said as she kicked off her heels moving her feet to rest on the coffee table. "Then have to go to their parties? And be obligated to say Hello all the time? No thanks" he said shaking his head. "I'd rather not. Knowing this type of guy his wife will probably be over soon introducing herself organising a cocktail party and inviting everyone just to show she's the new head newpsie"

"Are we sure his wife isn't Julie Cooper?" Summer chuckled.

"Pretty sure, you never know though they might be related" he laughed before continuing to eat. "I'm pretty sure we don't need another Julie though, no one needs another Julie"


End file.
